Secrets of Skin

BBC Four

7:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Tuesday 1 July

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Wherever they live, skin is critical in allowing animals to sense the world around them. Even the toughest of animals, Crocodilians, have a surprisingly sensitive side when it comes to their specialised skin sensors they use to detect the tiniest of ripples in the water. Deadly Pit Vipers use heat sensors to ambush the small rodents they feed on. Ben Garrod puts them to the test with an experiment to see if they will strike a cold or warm ping-pong ball. He also uncovers how the leaf nosed bat puts its facial skin to good use as an acoustic lens to echolocate around its dense forest habitat